Such an early Easter is a great chance for gardeners. We are never ahead of the game but at least we can start the growing season on better terms with it. It is time to be properly armed and to face up to the fact that weeds like mild winters too and have been sneaking up on us all during those wet winter weekends.

By “armed”, I mean properly armed. I listen to the hot air about “organic” gardening with a wry smile. Nobody has really eliminated groundelder by supposedly “green” methods and nobody has controlled weeds on large areas of gravel and driveways by muttering “organic” at them. Of course we do not want to use more chemicals than we need to, but gardeners who are serious about large areas in their care all combine “organic” and “inorganic” methods anyway.